Ceramic-based data storage firm Cerabyte has been awarded a grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, to help commercialize its “scalable and sustainable” data storage solutions.
The EIC Accelerator is overseen by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency. Cerabyte was one of 68 startups across different industries to share a total of €411 million ($426 million) in funding.
The Munich, Germany-based firm’s ceramic-based technology utilizes advanced laser-matrix writing and high-speed microscope reading technologies, forming the cornerstone of a system capable of storing immense amounts of data “virtually forever,” with no data migration required and retrieval “within seconds” it claims.
Data is imprinted as femtosecond laser-produced nanoscale holes in a ceramic medium, layered on a glass substrate tablet, that can hold data in a “usable state” for “thousands of years.” Data is written at a rate of two million bits per laser pulse, with a 1GB capacity on each of the tablet’s surfaces. Data is read using scanning microscopes.
The immutable data storage is said to be fully recyclable – helping to reduce environmental and carbon footprints – and leverages semiconductor manufacturing tool technology to “scale density and speed towards the yottabyte era,” we are told.
While it has not been disclosed exactly how much Cerabyte received, the EIC Accelerator offers startups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5 million combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund, “ranging from €0.5 to €15 million or more.”
Of the €411 million in total funding, up to €165 million is in grants, and an estimated €245 million will be in equity. Almost all the selected recipients (96 percent) will receive the “full blended finance option” – the combination of grants and equity investments, according to the EIC.
The EIC Fund, the EIC’s dedicated investment arm, attracts other investors to increase the overall investment to over three times the EIC investment “on average,” the EIC added.
Cerabyte says its technology offers scalable, energy-efficient, durable and environmentally sustainable data storage for industries ranging from healthcare to AI. The startup said the cash will help bring its offering to market faster.
